New Jersey Freight Forwarder Pleads Guilty to ITAR Violations

Michael Stashchyshyn, who owned a freight forwarder company in Parsippany, New Jersey, pleaded guilty March 20 to one charge of "conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act," the Justice Department said in a March 21 news release. "In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Stashchyshyn conspired with others to export night sighting equipment, firearm parts, and ammunition to Ukraine without the requisite license issued by the State Department," said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The items were bought in the U.S. and sent to Stashchyshyn, who "then shipped the items to an individual in Ukraine in violation of U.S. law and regulations. The items shipped are contained on the Federal Munitions List and are controlled by the International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) regulations. They are illegal to ship without a license from the State Department, which the defendant and his co-conspirators did not have."